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3/29/2012

What can spoil the joy of inheriting a manor in the Great Britain? Only the Poltergeist!

Rating: 4.4/5.

for only $ 13.99!

Hello, my dear friends, once again the time has come to review new Hidden Object game from Big Fish - Shiver 2: Poltergeist. As usual, Shiver 2 isn't pure HOG - it's also includes Puzzle and Adventure game elements, and that's good. And as usual Big Fish Games released on March 2012 only Collector's Edition of the Shiver 2: Poltergeist game. Big Fish simultaneously released game for PC (download link can be found upper) and for Mac. Standard Edition will be available in the end of April. Or never :) But speaking seriously lets firstly watch video with gameplay elements, and only then we can do some conclusions about game.

Nicely drawn landscapes and locations, great interactive game videos, looking like a real thriller to me. Also Shiver 2: Poltergeist includes pretty interesting story. Can't say it's revolutionary but it isn't boring too. At least I payed attention to the storyline until the very end of game.

Long time ago a young girl was in love with the master of the Kangale Estate. He loved her too, and their destiny was appeared to be great and happy. But that was only a dream, reality changed everything to worse. Much, much worse.

From the ancient times there is some supernatural force in the Kangale Estate and it claimed to have influence on the actions that are happening there. Those force didn't like the girl and didn't want her to be a mistress of the Estate. That's why she died.

When the girl visited the lighthouse, the fire suddenly started. She was cut off from the exit by the fire, and firestorm was spreading dramatically fast. The only way for her was to go up to the lighthouse's top. But there was no salvation, fire followed her there, so the only way for her was to jump. Her beloved one seen the fire, he took the boat and sailed to the lighthouse, but he was too late. Girl jumped, girl died.

But all of this is history. Your avatar's name is Ricardo Chellini and until the age of thirty his life was really dull. But then he received a letter that he inherited a manor in England. The Kangale Estate. And now the time has come for scary adventures!

Estate placed on the island, where even in the middle of summer you won't see the light of sun - only the myst and the rain. You took the boat and sailed to the island, to your new home. No one met you on the pier, but it's even better: you can familiarize yourself with your manor by the way you want.

Soon Ricardo will find out, why the game is called Shiver: Poltergeist. Strange things will occur with him all the time. It's enough to turn around - and objects behind your back will change their positions. Fire in the Fireplace will appear by itself, doors will open and close whenever they want. Scary place to live.

Some rooms and even buildings around the manor are ruined or half ruined: looks like they was abandoned many years ago. Meet the ghosts from the past times (they can be seen in the mirrors and dark rooms of the manor) and find out, what gruesome actions happened in the Kangale Estate!
If you experienced some technical problems - go to the game forum.

Now about my impressions and feelings from the Shiver 2: Poltergeist Collector's Edition. First of all, it's continues the story of the first game - Shiver Vanishing Hitchhiker, but the connections between the stories are weak. Gameplay is interesting, but there is nothing extraordinary - simple puzzles, usual Hidden Object scenes. But there is also no significant cons in the game.

Main Shiver: Poltergeist game advantage is atmosphere. It's really great, you feeling that there is no hope for the lost souls and maybe there is no hope for you either. And by the way, piano melodies in the game are just perfect.
Buying Collector's Edition of Shiver 2: Poltergeist will give you some pleasant bonus features (absent in the Standard version) - Integrated Strategy guide, bonus gameplay (more quests connected with the rusty lighthouse and ferry), Wallpapers (in various resolutions) and Concept Art. As you may notice, everything is pretty standard for Big Fish Games Collector's Editions.

What I may say in addition? There is nothing really new or revolutionary in this game, but Shiver 2: Poltergeist Collector's Edition will be successful because of this great atmosphere of darkness and despair. Ghosts are suffering and you can feel those suffers. No hope, no salvation can be found in the Kangale Estate. And that is why gameworld is so bogging, that's why it's hard to stop playing. Download Shiver 2: Poltergeist CУ - it's worth it.

3/22/2012

Old spooky tales... The are too different from the modern ones, too scary, old tales often appear to be too real. But what if some of them ARE real? Rating 4.7/5

for $13.99 only!

Hi there, Living Legends: Ice Rose Collector's Edition was released today by Big Fish Games so the time has come to review it. You won't be surprised if I say that Living Legends: Ice Rose is Hidden Object/Puzzle/Adventure game - Big Fish Games traditionally publish exclusive Collector's editions of the games that belongs to this genre combination. But let's talk not about Big Fish but about Living Legends: Ice Rose game, developed by the Friends Games and we will start with the gameplay video:

As you may see, Living Legends: Ice Rose game is based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale about Kai, Gerda and Snow Queen. Graphics is good, gameplay is comfy and interesting so let's talk about game features and storyline.

As you may remember in the tale "The Snow Queen"by the Hans Christian Andersen little boy and girl, Kai and Gerda are struggled against the evil Snow Queen, queen of the snowflakes. Snow Queen is immortal and year after year she traveling across the earth with the snow. She is just the same in the Living Legends: Ice Rose game. The tale begins when Snow Queen meet them and liked Kai, so Queen abducted him and enslaved his mind, using the splinters of the troll-mirror. Kai almost forgot about Gerda, went freely and willingly with the Snow Queen and become her loyal servant.

Snow Queen taken Kai to her snow palace in the lands of permafrost and promised, that if he will collect the word "eternity" from the shards of the troll-mirror, Queen will made him immortal too and moreover - will made him equal to herself. Mirror shards in the Kai eye and heart made him to see and feel reality distorted, to wish power and to control snow armies. He start to suspect his beloved Gerda in some evil intents, his heart become cold and cruel.

But Gerda willing to loose everything but not Kai. She went into dangerous journey, looking for Kai. For example, sorceress tried to control Gerda and to leave her with herself forever, but Gerda remembered the roses, most important flower for them and freed herself. Raven and princess helped Gerda, giving her right directions and warm clothes. Robbers captured Gerda but robber girl decided that Gerda is her playmate and helped her. After multiple adventures she went to the snow palace and find Kai. Witch of Finland helped Gerda to find a way to save Kai, and Gerda actually did it.

Gerda used her love to made shards of the troll-mirror fell from the Kai's heart so them combined the word "Eternity" and freed Kai from the influence of the Snow Queen.Kai and Gerda run away and lived happy long life.
But all of this just a tale isn't it? And Andersen's warning about the land of the snow queen is just a silly superstition, right? In Living Legends: Ice Rose Collector's Edition you will find out, that it's not true.

Icy realm of the Snow Queen still fascinates adventurers. Once prosperous city of Rosemount has been vanished: now it's covered with snow and all citizens are turned into the icy statues. So famous novelist Edward Grand travel to the Rosemoun, looking for the story for his new book. What can be more exciting than the story about iced ghost-town. He don't believe in the stories about the Snow Queen, and honestly, who believes this childish tales nowadays? Even though a century ago the great Hans Christian Andersen bequeathed to stay away from this cold beauty, fairy tales are not decree for the young ones. And that was Edward's main mistake.

Edward find a clues, leading him to the snow palace, so he went there to explore it and collect the evidence. But soon after beginning of the Living Legends: Ice Rose, Snow Queen captured Edward, just as Kai once, after him found the shards of the troll-mirror. Therefore, a new Gerda sets off to save the new Kai (aka Edward), and on the way she will meet original Kai and Gerda, only very aged. The old tale in a new cover is beautiful, like many years ago.

Exploring frozen landscapes you will meet many characters (most of them will be ghosts) and desperately trying to find a way to free Edward from the troll-mirror possession and save him from the Snow Palace. Music in the Living Legends: Ice Rose is just wonderful - sad and quiet, based on the violin's melodies it creates incredible atmosphere. Graphics is also great, and the most important thing is connected with roses. Roses are you guiders and saviors, in the harsh situation find and use the rose or something with rose's symbolics - it will help.

In the end of Living Legends: Ice Rose you will face the Snow Queen herself, and she won't be kind to you: jump away from your funicular before she will throw it into the abyss! Face the living legend, save Edward! Can you thaw out a town and Edward's heart? Download Living Legends: Ice Rose Collector's Edition and find out!

Collector's Edition includes traditional set of additional features - strategy guide, bonus content (chapter where you should thaw one more heart), screenshots, music, wallpapers, concept art, bonus puzzles and screensavers.

Living Legends: Ice Rose is a great game, opening a world of Andersen's classical tale from the unexpected side. I liked it and I hope you will like it too. It has great graphics and very interesting tense storyline. Since you can try it before you buy it I strongly recommend you to do so. Try Living Legends: Ice Rose Collector's Edition and have tons of fun!

3/15/2012

Two girls, two famous musicians. What could happen, if one of them will be abducted? Silent Nights: The Pianist will give you the answer...

Rating 4.2/5

for only $ 13.99 U.S. Dollars!

Hello, my friends, today Big Fish Games published new game, new Collector's Edition - Silent Nights: The Pianist. As usual it belongs to the Hidden Object/Puzzle/Adventure genre combination. I can remember only two cases of Collector's Editions not being HOGs during the last year - Royal Envoy 2 Collector's Edition, nice Time Management game and Drawn 3: Trail of Shadows Collector's Edition - pure Adventure game with Puzzle elements. Of course, there was also Fairway Collector's Edition, but I really didn't like such combination of golf and card game (although Fairway is pretty popular among other gamers). But let's watch video with Silent Nights: The Pianist gameplay to find more about today's game:

Two things connected with this Silent Nights: The Pianist Collector's Edition Trailer: first - game is about music and musicians, even some of the puzzles are connected with the music, singing and musical instruments. Second - I wasn't really impressed by the game graphics, especially after Mystery Trackers 3: Black Isle. You can miss it in the darkness, but when we are coming into the lighted location, poor detailing is fully exposing itself. But let's not judge game by its cover and start to review Silent Nights: The Pianist more closely.

For generations your family gained fame and weight for the famous musicians, grown inside the family. Tradition of the musical education for every family member is almost sacred and in the end gained the family incredible wealth. From century to century almost every member of your bloodline was a gifted, talented musician - composer,singer,guitarist,pianist,organist,violinist,cellist andharpistetc. The same happens with you and your sister Yvette, so to the time when Silent Nights: The Pianist begins both of you appeared to be great musicians - vocalist and pianist.

For years both of you gave performances all over the country, sometimes even in foreign concert halls. And the time has come to turn back home, to return where you belongs. You and Yvette are called to perform a vocal concert in your hometown, and both of you agreed to do so with a great pleasure. Maybe you haven't seen your family for a long time but it doesn't mean you don't want to. Yvette came to your homeland first, you were going just after her. Thats when the problems of Silent Nights: The Pianist begins.

When you arrived you find out that horrible thing happened - Yvette has been kidnapped! Your hometown looks deserted and empty, you can't find any man on the streets.And you are in desperate need for help of the police, your family, anyone's help! But there is no help coming. So Silent Night has begin and it's time for musician to play role of the private detective.

Soon, exploring the half-deserted town in Silent Nights: The Pianist you will find out, that Yvette was not a random victim, she's now a part of diabolical plan, dangerous for many people. She was abducted by the ancient organization, wearing robes to hide their true identities. Those mysterious group are planning to use Yvette talent for the dark and dangerous purpose, and what is most disturbing, it will absolutely lead Yvette to death.

It's not the first time the musician will carryjustice to the criminals. You may remember filmEl mariachi by Robert Rodriguez, where traveling mariachi was taking the guns and fighting crime. This time you wouldn't kill anyone, but you should find a way to your sister and save her before Yvette will be silenced forever. Although you just the Pianist for your sister you will pick locks, ram thegates with your car, blow the walls with the dynamite - do everything it takes to save your singer-sister!

Members of the ancient cult will do anything to stop you and kill you - they will set traps for you, they will shoot you with their guns, they will try to lock you up forever. Only wits and clever use of usual objects may help you to complete Silent Nights: The Pianist Collector's Edition and save Yvette from the terrible doom. Can you save your sister, or her beautiful voice will be silenced?

System requirements of the Silent Nights: The Pianist Collector's Edition is moderate: you will need only 2.0 GHz CPU to play game without lags, 512 Mb of memory, 485 MB of free space on your HDD and any Windows OS - from XP to Windows 7. Windows 8 not supported. Installation file size is about half gigabyte so you will need good Internet connection to download game fast.
Collector's Edition of Silent Nights: The Pianist for Windows from the Big Fish Games costs 13.99 U.S. dollars. For this money first of all you will gain early access to the game (Standard Edition will be available only in the middle of the April). Collector's Edition also includes Integrated Strategy Guide (usual for Big Fish - detailed description with pictures and screens for every game scene), bonus gameplay (with an intriguingstart start - you are finding yourself trapped and chained inside the room), Wallpapers and Concept Art. Of course, music from the game are also included in the soundtrack (it would be strangeifit were otherwise - in the end game is about music and musicians).

Now let's sum up. Silent Nights: The Pianist is not a bad Hidden Object, Puzzle, Adventure game, system requirements are normal, Collector's edition complectation of Silent Nights: The Pianist is also good. But there is something missing in the game, something important. Maybe developers just didn't include their soul into the game, maybe it's something else, but The Pianist isn't so entertaining as other HOGs. Some puzzles are too easy,and IMHO there's too many puzzles with fictional alphabet created by the game developers. Some letters in it is look like Vietnamese and differences one from another only by a dot or a short line, or a little curve. In some puzzles it may be annoying. Almost all hidden object scenes are dark, not the dangerously or beautifully dark but darkly gray and without contrast. I completed the game, I liked the finale and final quests, but I gained less fun than usual from this game. But although I still have fun, I may recommend to download Silent Nights: The Pianist, at least if you have no more interesting games waiting in line. Good luck!

3/08/2012

World, created by a stroke of brush... How beautiful and mysterious must it be! But what if this stroke was dark?

Rating: 4.7/5

for only $ 13.99!

Hi, this time Big Fish Games released Collector's Edition of newest game - Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers which is not really exclusive. Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers was developed by Alawar Friday's Games, structural element of Alawar Entertainment. If you still don't know that, Alawar is another big casual games publisher, so it published Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers as well.

And now when Big Fish Games released Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers and write "Exclusive" label on it I may say, that it's not true. But whatever.
As you can see from the Gameplay video, this Alawar game is pretty good looking and interesting.

First of all, my main impressions after the Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers Collector's Edition completion was pretty positive. It takes about six hours for me to complete the game (including bonus content) so I may say game is not too long.

As you may see from the numerous screens and gameplay video, graphics in Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers Collector's Edition is pretty good. All game actions are happening at night so mostly scenes are dark and gloomy, but in the will-lighted areas everything is well detailed and nice.

Gameplay of Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers is interesting and various. Hidden Object scenes are changed by the different puzzles, animated interactive scenes and videos showing to you storylines movement and creating a high tension.

Music is good, actors are voiced all game dialogs so it's another pro for a game. There is also lot of various side sounds, some of them connected with your actions and movement, other are random and created by the game environment, for example, by the rabid dogs sneaking you from behind and going to reap your flesh and tear your bones. It adds a lot to the Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers atmosphere.

But let's finally talk about the storyline. Your protagonist (avatar, if you want) is a man named Ethan Black. He lived in the strange world, where magic and technology are working together, where buildings, towns and entire realms may be created by the single stroke of brush. And Ethan lost his bride-to-be - Clair.

Clair was kidnapped by one of the most powerful, most hideous and most secretive forces in the Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers game realm - the Faceless ones order. When new member isinitiated for the order, he is starting to hide his face behind the mask. They say that during the initiation procedure the Faceless ones Elders are disfigurethe faces of newcomers, removing theirskin. But there will always bewilling to pay this horrible price for the power and supernatural abilities that the Faceless ones has.

Faceless ones headquarter are situated in the dreadful tower, placed in the center of once crowded town. When the Faceless ones has come there, some town inhabitants were killed, others run away. Son now the town become the ghost of former self, empty and rotten. Some buildings are destroyed by numerous fires, other are half-ruined without proper care. Some people are still lives here, but they are mostly hiding like wild animals, very few of them aren't afraid of the Faceless ones.

Before the beginning of Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers story Ethan Black tried to stay away from the supernatural forces and battles of the powers, and we can say, he was pretty successful. But this time everything went wrong from the very beginning.

Your train crushed on the bridge across the river. River near the forbidden city, home of the Faceless Ones. So it's not a big surprise that they are captured your bride-to-be, your fiancée Clair and now her life is in great danger. You are the only one able to follow her to the forbidden city, looking for any clues leading you to the Faceless one's base.

But "the only one able to" don't mean that it will be easy. Faceless ones don't ready to peacefully let you enter their sanctuary, take Clair and go away. Be ready to traps and attempts to kill Ethan Black (or get rid of him by any other possible way). Firstly everything will be pretty innocent: doors will be clothing in front of you, train will closed doors just after you and will move in unknown direction, hard objects will fall from the roofs somewhere near your head...

And your most problem is that you are just a human: not a superhero, not a hero at all, you have no supernatural powers or advanced abilities of martial arts, or at least technical knowledge. You are no one and you can do nothing. Your enemies in the contrary has both technical knowledge and supernatural abilities. They can froze you, burn you, break you, do whatever they want, and they won't hesitate to do so if you will made a mistake.

Will Ethan Black be able to save Clair and defeat the Faceless ones? Can he repay the debt of his father? Will he complete his quest and find what he's looking for in the depths of fiery abyss? Download Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers Collector's Edition and find the answers in the black heart of a decimated city.

Collector's Edition of this Hidden Object Game includes everything you may need - Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers strategy guide, integrated in the gameplay (may be in handy when you are stuck), bonus gameplay with special chapter, High Definition Wallpapers and Concept Art and soundtrack (11 tracks - more than enough). But even without bonus materials Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers includes 58 locations, 20 hidden object scenes and 16 mini-games.

System requirements for Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers Collector's edition is the same as for Standard Edition: you will need 1.8 GHz CPU, 512 Mb of RAM, any modern Windows OS, starting from the Windows XP and to Windows 7 (efficiency on the Windows 8 not confirmed yet). Also you will need 682 Mb of HDD free space and DirectX 9.

Summing up Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers is pretty good Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game. Storyline is unusual (no boring haunted houses with ghosts), graphics and music are good, gameplay is fascinating. So Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers Collector's Edition is worth downloading.